Barry Allen has carried the weight of the world on his shoulders since the first episode. From always carrying the guilt of loved ones dying, keeping his friends alive, to protecting Central City 24/7, Barry has been due for a vacation for quite some time. On this week’s episode of The Flash, titled “Cause And Effect,” fans finally got to see what Barry Allen would’ve looked like had he lived a stress-free life. With the opportunity to rid him of all his problems, would the result still be the Barry Allen you’ve grown to love and admire? Or would he be deprived of what had made him the man that he is today, even if it brought with it the burden of the world on his shoulders? Warning: Spoilers!

In an effort to prevent Savitar from gaining anymore of an advantage on Team Flash, Cisco and Julian come up with a way to stop Barry from making anymore new memories. However, in the process, they end up causing temporary amnesia in Barry. Not only does he not have a clue who anyone is, but he can’t even access his powers. He soon becomes distressed because he can’t remember anything, but, luckily, Iris is nearby to show him pictures of the west and reassure him that he’s surrounded by loved ones. He eventually calms down and the team begins working on a way to restore his memories.

Meanwhile, Killer Frost meets up with Savitar at an undisclosed location. Something seems off, though. She knocks on his suit of armor to see if anyone is home. He snaps and grabs her by the neck and throws her against the wall. “Who are you? Who am I?” It looks like whatever Barry has done to his present self has also affected his future self in Savitar. While this is a break for Team Flash, it had consequences that no one saw coming – because Savitar has no memories of what’s been done to him or why he’s there in Wally West never gets his powers and is rendered useless for the rest of the episode.

Caitlin returns to the lab as Killer Frost and makes a deal to help restore Barry’s memories. With Cisco, Julian, and Caitlin back in the same lab, Cisco makes an attempt to bring some kind of life back within the group. The moment is short lived, but Caitlin soon reverts back to her Killer Frost persona. Later, a man who was released by the court because of Barry’s amnesia, raids an office and sets it on fire. By now, Barry’s rediscovered his powers, but doesn’t know how to control them.

Thankfully Cisco, Julian, and Caitlin were able to come up with a way to restore Barry’s memories and give him control over his powers again. But there are some consequences – Savitar gains his memories back as well, but this also means he’s able to give Wally his powers. So, in comes Kid Flash to help save the day. Back at the lab, Cisco, Barry, and Julian try to concvince Caitlin to stay with Team Flash, but it seems that she may be too far gone. The episode ends as the Speed Bazooka is shown off. However, it needs a massive power source. The only one powerful enough is being guarded by King Shark. It looks like Barry’s going to need a little help.

This was a pretty special episode because fans got to see a whole other side to Barry Allen. One that was so innocent and pure. His smile was even infectious. It was easy to relate to Iris and her dilemma of not wanting to restore Barry’s memories. In the end, though, this wasn’t the real Barry. The ups and downs are what made Barry who he is and it’s what keeps him grounded even with all that power.

A really great part of this episode was watching Iris fall in love again with Barry. Sure, she already loved him for who he was, but the look on her face as she watched a burden-free Barry learn everything over again was special. It’s a true testament as to how these two characters really belong to each other. It was also a great reminder as to how caught up they’ve been with being heroes that they’ve forgotten what any kind of normalcy is like.

The Killer Frost/Caitlin Snow problem looks like it may be coming to an end. And now fans may have to deal with the idea that Caitlin Snow may not be coming back any time soon. Those closing scenes with her and the guys was pretty harsh. To tell someone that you don’t love them after they’ve expressed their’s is heartbreaking. But that’s who she is – a cold-hearted killer. What about those few seconds where her eyes were normal? Could that be a sign that there may be a chance that both could exist at the same time? The attempt to recount old memories with Ronnie and Caitlin may have failed in the end, but it gave people watching a glimmer of hope that something could be pulled out of that situation.

The season only has two episodes left and the next one comes with a suitcase full of questions. How is Captain Cold back? What is this power source? And why the heck is King Shark guarding it? Looks like you’ll have to tune in next week for the penultimate episode of The Flash.

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